West African Nigerian Yoruba Hand-Crafted White Beaded Bird Crown with Fringe on Stand. This piece is more decorative, made in one color with fewer iconographic symbols and shapes, but is still a beautiful example of the unique headdresses the tribe has created for millennia. The tall metal stand is specifically designed for this piece. A label attached near the top bird gives the store where it was acquired and prior price. 

Provenance: Bought by consignor at Current Furniture Art Design in Sarasota, Florida. 

Size: 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 44 in. 

Yoruba crowns, formed by starched cotton placed over a basketry structure, are decorated with beaded faces, birds and geometric patterns. The faces represent local kings, past and present. The gathering of birds refers both to rituals that make the king semidivine and to the concealed forces that enable him to control and mediate the human and supernatural realms. Interlace patterns called salubata are associated with royalty or leadership. Their meaning is debatable, although the pattern may depict intertwining snakes, symbols of continuity. The veil or fringe protects the king's subjects from the supernatural powers radiating from his face.

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